Tigers maul Hermiston, 4-2

WHO WANTS IT?: La Grande’s Esa Grigsby chases after the ball with a Hermiston defender nearby. The Tigers went on to win, 4-2. - The Observer/ BARRETT HENDERSON

“We were supposed to work on mental toughness and I think we did that,” Montgomery said. “We still need to work on some stuff, but overall we played pretty good.”

Montgomery finished the game with two goals. She found the net in the 44th minute for the Tigers second goal. Montgomery made a great move in between two Bulldog defenders after they caught up to her on a breakaway.

She then struck the ball with her left foot and hit the crossbar at an angle. This caused the ball to hit Mary Barnett, the Hermiston goalkeeper, in the back and go into the net.

“All I was thinking was score. I knew where the goal was and I went for it,” Montgomery said.

In La Grande’s last game it took 16 shots and failed to put any in the net. The Tigers turned 15 shots on Tuesday into four goals.

“It was a win, but we struggled,” La Grande head coach Sarah Androlewicz said. “I think the heat intimidated our players. We came out flat. In the second half it cooled off and we started attacking.”

In the 39th minute, the Tigers’ Kelsy Mitchell took a shot from 20 yards away and Barnett dove and knocked it out of bounds. On the ensuing corner kick, Charlotte Quebbeman turned a loose ball into a goal. Mitchell’s corner kick went through the Hermiston defense and Quebbeman struck the ball into the right side of the net.

The Bulldogs scored their first goal in the 55th minute. Hermiston capitalized on a La Grande handball and Kelli Jones scored on a penalty kick.

The Bulldogs seemed to gain some momentum after their goal, coming close to scoring twice in the next 10 minutes.

After a Jones miss, Hermiston came very close on a corner kick in the 68th minute. The Tigers’ Shelby Miller knocked the corner kick into the air and the ball was loose inside the goalkeepers’ box. Chrissie Younggren then cleared the ball out of bounds.

Nine minutes later, Montgomery took advantage of a loose ball for La Grande. Montgomery settled a loose corner kick 10 yards away from the net and struck it into the back of the net.

“Jenna brings a lot of spunk to our team, Androlewicz said. “She’s like a little ball of energy. She tries really hard and you can tell she loves the game.”

Sophomore Esa Grigsby ended the Tiger scoring in the 82nd minute. Grigsby used a perfectly-placed assist from Mitchell on a 3-on-2 break.

The Bulldogs second goal came off another penalty, this time just out of the box. Catie Coleman lofted a ball over the La Grande wall and Miller into the right side of the net.

The Tigers’ next game is at home, Saturday, against Umatilla. Kickoff is scheduled for 11 a.m. at La Grande Middle School.